Christianity in the ante-Nicene period
Christianity in the ante-Nicene period was the period in Christian history following the Apostolic Age up to the First Council of Nicaea. Although the use of the term Christian is attested in the Acts of the Apostles, the earliest recorded use of the term Christianity is attested by the ante-Nicene Father and theologian Ignatius of Antioch.
While the Jewish–Christian community was centered in Jerusalem in the 1st century AD, Gentile Christianity spread widely in the 2nd century AD. One stream of Gentile Christianity that emerged in this period in the persons and theological positions of the Apostolic Fathers would eventually become the international Great Church. Proto-Orthodox Christianity placed importance on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as saving humanity, and described Jesus as the incarnated Son of God come to Earth. The 2nd and 3rd centuries AD saw a sharp separation between Jewish Christianity and Gentile Christianity, with the latter being derived from the teachings of the Apostle Paul. There was an explicit rejection of Second Temple Judaism and Jewish culture by the end of the 2nd century, with a growing body of anti-Jewish Christian literature. Many doctrinal variations in this era defy neat categorizations, as various forms of Christianity interacted in a complex fashion.
A third major school of thought was Marcionite Christianity, a dualistic theological system that originated with the teachings of Marcion of Sinope in 2nd-century Rome and held that the Hebrew God of the Old Testament ruled upon the Jews by enslaving them to follow the Mosaic Law, while the Gentiles were saved through divine grace by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, sent by an entirely different Supreme God. A fourth major school of thought was Gnostic Christianity, an elaborate theological system characterized by several emanationist cosmologies and the notion of a "divine spark" trapped in matter, which regarded Jesus Christ as a divine being sent by a supreme, Unknown God who pre-existed and was superior to the malevolent Hebrew God of the Old Testament, and who brought salvation through direct, experiential "knowledge".
During the ante-Nicene period, various local and provincial ancient Church councils were held during this period, with the decisions meeting varying degrees of acceptance by different Christian groups. Major Christian figures of the 2nd century who were later declared by the developing proto-Orthodox faction to be heretics were Marcion, Montanus, and Valentinus. In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, after centuries of intermittent persecution, proto-Orthodox Christianity experienced both pressure and recognition from the Roman State and developed a strong episcopal and unifying structure, leading to its legalization under the Emperor Constantine.
Beliefs and Practices
came to adopt some Jewish practices while rejecting others. Marcion, who believed in the total rejection of Judaism and Jewish scriptures, proposed the rejection of the Old Testament in its entirety and all Jewish practices, but he was excommunicated in Rome and declared to be heretical by the growing proto-Orthodox faction.Eschatology
"emerged as a sect of Judaism in Roman Judea" in the syncretistic Greco-Roman world of the 1st century AD, which was dominated by Roman law and Hellenistic culture. It started with the ministry of Jesus, who proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God. After his death by crucifixion, some of his followers are said to have seen Jesus, and proclaimed him to be alive and resurrected by God. The resurrection of Jesus "signalled for earliest believers that the days of eschatological fulfillment were at hand," and gave the impetus in certain Christian sects to the exaltation of Jesus to the status of divine Son and Lord of God's Kingdom and the resumption of their missionary activity.The predominant eschatological view in the ante-Nicene period was premillennialism, the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and Judgement Day. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus were the most outspoken proponents of premillennialism. Justin Martyr saw himself as continuing in the "Jewish" belief of a temporary messianic kingdom prior to the eternal state. Irenaeus devoted Book V of his Against Heresies to a defense of the physical resurrection and eternal judgement.
Other early premillennialists included Pseudo-Barnabas, Papias, Methodius, Lactantius, Commodianus Theophilus, Tertullian, Melito, Hippolytus of Rome, and Victorinus of Pettau.
Eventually, various Christian eschatological systems developed among different Christian denominations throughout the history of Christianity, providing different frameworks for understanding the timing and nature of apocalyptic predictions. By the 3rd century AD, there was growing opposition to premillennialism. Origen was the first to challenge the doctrine openly. Dionysius of Alexandria stood against premillennialism when the chiliastic work, The Refutation of the Allegorizers by Nepos, a bishop in Egypt, became popular in Alexandria, as noted in Eusebius's, Ecclesiastical History. Eusebius said of the premillennialian, Papias, that he was "a man of small mental capacity" because he had taken the Apocalypse literally.
Real presence
Lord's Day
According to Bauckham, the post-apostolic Christian Church contained diverse practices as regards the Sabbath. It seems clear that some of the Early Church considered, in addition to keeping the weekly Sabbath, the importance of also worshipping on the Lord's Day. In the Didache, it states "But every Lord's day gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving."Infant baptism
Infant baptism was widely practised at least by the 3rd century AD, but it is disputed whether it was in the first centuries of Christianity. Some believe that the Church in the apostolic period practised infant baptism, arguing that the mention of the baptism of households in the Acts of the Apostles would have included children within the household. Others believe that infants were excluded from the baptism of households, citing verses of the Bible that describe the baptized households as believing, which infants are incapable of doing. In the 2nd century AD, Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon, may have referred to it. Additionally, Justin Martyr wrote about baptism in First Apology, describing it as a choice and contrasting it with the lack of choice one has in one's physical birth. However, Justin Martyr also seems to imply elsewhere that believers were "disciples from childhood", indicating, perhaps, their baptism.The so-called Apostolic Tradition says to "Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them." If it was written by Hippolytus of Rome, Apostolic Tradition could be dated about 215, but recent scholars believe it to be material from separate sources ranging from the middle second to the fourth century, being gathered and compiled about 375–400.
The third century evidence is clearer, with both Origen and Cyprian advocating the practice. Tertullian acknowledges the practice, but, holding an unusual view of marriage, argues against it, on the grounds that baptism should be postponed until after marriage.
Interpretation of the baptismal practices of the early church is important to groups such as Baptists, Anabaptists, and the Churches of Christ who believe that infant baptism was a development that occurred during the late second to early third centuries. The early Christian writings mentioned above, which date from the second and third century, indicate that Christians as early as the second century did maintain such a practice.
Prayer and worship
In Apostolic Tradition, Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray seven times a day, "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion." Christians attended two liturgies on the Lord's Day, worshipping communally in both a morning service and evening service, with the purpose of reading the Scriptures and celebrating the Eucharist. Throughout the rest of the week, Christians assembled at the church every day for morning prayer and evening prayer, while praying at the other fixed prayer times privately. This practice of seven fixed prayer times was done in the bodily positions of prostration and standing. Derived from the writings of Saint Paul, Christians employed the orans position in prayer too. A Christian cross on an eastern wall of a dwelling was used to mark the eastward direction of prayer.Holy Kiss
Instituted in the New Testament, in the early Church, "the verbal exchange of 'peace' with a kiss appears to be a Christian innovation, there being no clear example in pre-Christian literature." The Holy Kiss was thus followed as a Christian teaching, not a cultural practice. The early Christian apologist Tertullian wrote that before leaving a house, Christians are to give the Holy Kiss and say "peace to this house". In early Christianity, "the kiss was shared in conjunction with the benedictions at the conclusion of worship services" though it soon "became associated with the Eucharist" and thus "its location during the worship service moved forward in time to the celebration of Communion." The Holy Kiss was seen as an essential part of preparing to partaking in the Eucharist:For the early Christians, the Holy Kiss "was associated with the peace and unity given by the Holy Spirit to the congregation." To guard against any abuse of this form of salutation, women and men were required to sit separately, and the kiss of peace was given only by women to women and by men to men, with closed mouths. Apostolic Tradition specified with regard to catechumens: "When they have prayed they shall not give the kiss of peace for their kiss is not yet holy". As such, the Holy Kiss was distinguished as a ritual only to be partaken of by baptized Christians, with catechumens and non-Christians not being greeted this way.